Pakistan has stored its nuclear arsenal at nine different locations across the country, according to a recent report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
United States-based nuclear weapon expert Hans Kristensen, who co-authored the report, said Pakistan's nuclear warheads may be located in storage facilities near the bases identified by the report.
Kristensen added that these bases appear to house nuclear-capable launchers which would be used for the warheads.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had last week bragged about his country's tactical or nonstrategic nuclear weapons, stating that the nukes were meant to deter the Indian Army's "cold start" doctrine.
Although Abbasi had declared that the country's nukes were under a robust command-and-control system, the new report suggests these tactical nukes are vulnerable to accidents and can also end up with terrorists.
The nuclear weapon expert told the Times of India that since Pakistan is building a short-range sub-strategic nuclear arsenal, the warheads are likely to be dispersed to regional storage sites, from where they would be assembled to the launcher bases.
"Since the shorter-range systems are intended to be used earlier in a conflict below the strategic level, weapons for these systems would likely be distributed early in a crisis and raise the risk of accident and incidents. If used against conventional attacks, use of the tactical nuclear weapons would likely lead to escalation to a wider nuclear war quickly," Kristensen said.
A Donald Trump administration official last month had said the US was worried over Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons, which were being designed for use in the battlefield.
The official was also quoted as saying that the White House fears these systems were susceptible to terrorist theft, and elevated the probabilities of a nuclear exchange in the area.
The report also said even though Pakistan has been rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, there is no public information available on where these weapons are stored and where they are being produced.
